It is clear that possession of a digital image differs from possession of a traditional 35mm image.
 | A digital copy of a digital image is often indistinguishable from the "original" digital image; indeed, one of the premises of Why Digital? is that a digital image may be in several places at once without ever "leaving home." |
| Digital images that are displayed on the World Wide Web are easily copied by anyone wishing to copy them (copying of a 35mm slide is not only a much more labor-intensive undertaking, but the copy will inevitably be of lesser quality than the image from which the copy was made). |
These two facts are at the center of much of the discomfort (if not litigation) of certain image owners and publishers who see the digital image as a threat to their sole ownership. I would not for a moment suggest that image copyright holders do not have rights over their property. However, the doctrine of fair use has been interpreted by the teaching profession as giving educators and students the right to use copyrighted images in an educational setting. That interpretation has never been seriously challenged. Until now. Until the advent of the digital image.
For useful comments on the state of "fair use," see "Fair Use Under Challenge" by Robert Baron, http://www.studiolo.org/IP/2003NYTM/Baron/BaronFairUseChallenged.htm
The battles that have arisen in this arena have arisen because people have chosen to ignore conventional wisdom. It's one of the few hopeful signs that I see in my world today that some very clever and talented people are ignoring conventional wisdom.
